Edith Irby Jones
Edith Irby Jones (December 23, 1927 – July 15, 2019) was an American physician who was the first African American to be accepted as a non-segregated student at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the first black student to attend racially mixed classes in the American South. She was the first African American to graduate from a southern medical school, first black intern in the state of Arkansas, and later first black intern at Baylor College of Medicine.
Edith Irby Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edith Mae Irby December 23, 1927 near Conway, Arkansas, US |
| Died | July 15, 2019 (aged 91) Houston, Texas, US |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Years active | 1952–2019 |
| Known for | First African-American student to attend a racially mixed class in the Southern United States (1948) |
Jones was the first woman president of the National Medical Association and a founding member of the Association of Black Cardiologists. She was honored by many awards, including induction into both the University of Arkansas College of Medicine Hall of Fame and the inaugural group of women inducted into the Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame.